Yep, this is my obligatory Beer Gift Guide. Actually, I’m doing mine a bit differently this year. Every idea that I share qualifies as a last minute gift, available for those of you who failed to order your husband’s stainless steel Viking Kegerator in time for Santa to deliver it by Christmas. This is the first installment in this series. I will be doing one per day for the next few days.
iOpener – The iPhone Bottle Opener. If you are like me, at least one bottle opener must be within reach at all times. For me, it is usually on my keychain. But what if I didn’t bring my keys with me tonight? Then I am left asking someone to help me open a beer. And I feel shame.
The folks at West280, Inc. offer a bottle opener that is also an iPhone case – the iOpener. I may leave the keys at home, but my iPhone is always with me.
Need to open a bottle of beer? There’s an app for that.
Everything about the iOpener is pretty slick. It is easy to snap your iPhone into place, then with a simple slide of the recessed switch you are ready to do important work. The bottle opener seems to have been well engineered and the actual case is made of beefy, hard plastic that provides the strength and rigidity needed to perform as a bottle opener. As an iPhone case, it seems to be just as stalwart as other rigid, plastic cases. Not waterproof, or moisture proof, but a decent enough case.
Prices vary from $16 to $40. Why? Because the iOpener is available for iPhone 3G/3GS and 4/4S. Understandably, those are the cheap models. The iOpener is also available for the iPhone 5, which will cost you $39.95. All are available in black or white.
As I said, it seems a sturdy case and it should protect the phone in most reasonable circumstances. I’m not sure that it will permanently replace my Otterbox, but it is a good iPhone case AND has the added advantage of being a bottle opener, so we’ll see.
It doesn’t come with a screen protector (the clear plastic film), but those are available at pretty much any iPhone retailer.
My iOpener arrived in five business days.
Go to http://www.west280.com/shop/
Disclosure: They sent me one for free, but I wouldn’t be writing about it if I wasn’t impressed.